Priaulx hungry for victory in championship opener at Daytona
Seb Priaulx has his eyes on victory lane as he makes his competitive debut for Ford Performance this weekend.
This year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opens up with the Rolex 24 at Daytona, for which qualifying takes place today, and the Sarnian will also finally get to join forces with a driver he has long admired – Germany’s Mike Rockenfeller.
The 41-year-old Rockenfeller is currently one of the most experienced drivers on the SportsCar Championship grid, but Priaulx junior has fond memories of watching him competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters against his father, Andy.
And so the 24-year-old is rather excited to now be racing alongside ‘Rocky’ in the No 64 Ford Mustang GT3.
‘I’ve always looked up to Mike,’ he said.
‘When I was watching my father in DTM, Mike was racing against my dad.
‘I was young and watching Mike, I was looking up to him, and it’s great that I’m now a teammate with Mike – it’s a dream come true.
‘It’s something I thought I would never, ever do, and Mike is such a good guy, such a great teammate.
‘We haven’t raced together yet, but I’ve loved working so far with him and I’m excited for this year. I feel like the car can be really good.
‘It’s had a year of learning and I think now we’re really in a good place.’
Daytona will be Priaulx’s first championship outing since last July parting ways with AO Racing, who later won the GTD Pro title.
He still got to savour victories at Laguna Seca and Detroit during his truncated season.
‘Obviously, last year was good,’ he added.
‘I won two races in IMSA and I’ve had the experience of winning now in the WeatherTech Championship.
‘I feel confident in that, but yeah, each year’s different.
‘You’ve got to be out there and hungry for it. I really feel like I am and I’m really excited for the partnership here.’
Priaulx finished second in Daytona last year, and the car showed good speed at last week’s Roar Before the 24, so does he feel he can take top spot this time?
‘Daytona’s a tricky race. I’m realistic, but also I’ve got an aim, and I want to win, and so does Mike.
‘I’d love to win the first race here for Ford in the GT3.
‘But we’ll take one step at a time and see how it goes.’
Qualifying takes place this afternoon followed by the gruelling 24-hour race, starting at 6.40pm GMT on Saturday.
